What the Heck is Nutritional Yeast?

Of all the ingredients I use in my recipes, the one I’m asked about the most is nutritional yeast. I’ve been cooking with it for so long that I forget how strange it must sound to people who are new to vegan cooking. Neither the word “nutritional” nor the word “yeast” conjures up mouthwatering images, but the truth is, it’s one of the few “health food store” ingredients that I wouldn’t want to have to do without, not because of its nutritional value, but because of its flavor. So what is it, why should you use it, and where can you find it?

What Nutritional Yeast Is

Nutritional yeast is a food additive made from a single-celled organism, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, which is grown on molasses and then harvested, washed, and dried with heat to kill or “deactivate” it. Because it’s inactive, it doesn’t froth or grow like baking yeast does so it has no leavening ability. Don’t worry; no animals are harmed in this process because yeasts are members of the fungi family, like mushrooms, not animals.

Nutritional yeast has such an unappealing name that somebody started calling it “nooch” and the name caught on in some corners of the internet. The brand that most vegans use is Red Star Vegetarian Support Formula because it is a good source of vitamin B12 and contains no whey, an animal product that is used in some other brands. In the U.K., nutritional yeast is sold under the Engevita brand and in Australia as savory yeast flakes.

What It Isn’t

Nutritional yeast is not the same as brewer’s yeast, which is a product of the beer-making process and is very bitter. It’s also not Torula yeast, which is grown on paper-mill waste and is also not very tasty. And please do not try to substitute active dry yeast or baking yeast, which taste bad and will probably make a huge, frothy mess because their yeasts are alive.

Where Can I Find Nutritional Yeast?

You probably won’t be able to find nutritional yeast in a typical grocery store. I buy it from the bulk bins at the local natural food store, where it is labeled “Vegetarian Support Formula.” Larger grocery stores might have Bob’s Red Mill or Braggs brand in the natural food section. If you can’t find it locally, Amazon has several brands, including Red Star. Some brands of nutritional yeast taste better than others, so if you can, buy a little and taste it first; if you don’t like it, try another brand.

I use the flaked version of nutritional yeast, but it’s also available in a powder. If you’re using the powder, you will need only about half as much as the flakes.

Why Use It?

As you can guess from its name, nutritional yeast is packed with nutrition, particularly B-vitamins, folic acid, selenium, zinc, and protein. It’s low in fat, is gluten-free (check specific brands for certification), and contains no added sugars or preservatives. Because vitamin B12 is absent from plant foods unless it’s added as a supplement, nutritional yeast that contains B12, such as Red Star Vegetarian Support Formula, is a great addition to the vegan diet (though I strongly recommend taking a supplement as the only way to be sure you’re getting enough). Not all nooch has B12, so check the label carefully before buying.

The vitamins and minerals are all well and good, but truthfully, most people use nutritional yeast for its flavor.

How Does Nutritional Yeast Taste?

Nutritional yeast has a flavor that has been described as cheesy, nutty, savory, and “umami.” Just a tablespoon or two can add richness to soups, gravies, and other dishes, and larger amounts can make “cheese” sauces and eggless scrambles taste cheesy and eggy.

Adding a small amount of nutritional yeast to a dish enhances the flavors present and helps form a rich flavor base.

If for some reason you can’t find nutritional yeast or can’t use it, you can safely leave it out of recipes where it’s used in small amounts as only a flavor enhancer; in some cases, miso or soy sauce can be used in a 1:3 ratio (1/3 of the amount of nooch called for), though both add sodium, so you may need to reduce the salt. In recipes where nutritional yeast provides the bulk of the flavor, such as vegan cheese sauces, it’s best not to attempt to substitute it.

Does It Contain MSG?

No. The savory, umami taste of nutritional yeast comes from glutamaic acid, an amino acid that is formed during the drying process. Glutamic acid is a naturally occurring amino acid found in many fruits and vegetables and is not the same as the commercial additive monosodium glutamate.

How Do You Use Nutritional Yeast?

If you’re new to nutritional yeast, it’s better to try it a little at a time rather than to dive right into a recipe that uses a lot of it. Try some of the suggestions below, using just a little until you develop a taste for it:

Sprinkle it on popcorn.

Stir it into mashed potatoes.

Add a little to the cooking water for “cheesy grits” or polenta.

Sprinkle on any pasta dish.

Make almond “parmesan” by blending nutritional yeast with raw almonds in a food processor.

Add a tablespoon or two to bean dishes to enhance flavors.

Seitan Scaloppine with Lemon-Olive Sauce

For a Savory or “Poultry” Flavor:

These recipes use small amounts of nutritional yeast to form a flavor base and are good for beginning users.

Update 11/2014: There have been studies (such as this one and this one) that raise the concern that high amounts of synthetic folic acid may increase the risk of breast cancer. Most brands of nutritional yeast do contain added folic acid in varying amounts. If you are concerned about this, read labels carefully and choose brands that contain as little as possible. I know of three brands of nutritional yeast that don’t contain synthetic folic acid: Sari Foods, KAL Unfortified Yeast Flakes, and Dr. Fuhrman’s Nutritional Yeast. If you know of other brands, please leave details in the comments.

Update 3/2017: Recently, a vegan magazine claimed on its blog that nutritional yeast is under attack by the EPA. The article got a lot of vegans worked up with insinuations that veganism is being targeted. It was all based on a misreading (or not reading at all) of proposed amendments to the EPA rules on the manufacture of both baker’s and nutritional yeast. The rules are not new and were put in place to protect workers and the environment from carcinogens formed when large factories make these types of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Please, if you see the artcle being posted, know that nutritional yeast is not under threat, the price will not be rising (unless people start hoarding it), and it is not going off the market. Don’t buy into the hysteria. Here is a link to the EPA page with all the necessary documents, so you can read it for yourself: https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/manufacturing-nutritional-yeast-national-emission-standards.

What’s Your Favorite Use?

Please share your favorite ways to use nutritional yeast in the comments below.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

I love the name “nooch”!! I think it’s funny. If my boyfriend asked what is that cheesy taste on his salad and I’d answer, “oh I sprinkled a little nooch on your salad!” I’d get a much better reaction than if I’d said, “oh, I sprinkled a little nutritional yeast! On your SALAD. Yeast!!” 😉

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I was trying to figure this out and had to google it. Now I have the facts about nutritional yeast. I guess you don’t need to use it but the fact that you says it tastes good and adds flavor is enough for me to want to try it. I found on on amazon with no whey and 400% daily value of B12! People were constantly asking me about B12 when I was a vegetarian, and now that I am trying a vegan diet, I can feel the start of questions coming already. Thanks Again!

it tastes of salt as it is packed with glutamates (msg) which you need in microdoses, but are a neurotoxin in high doses. it is in so much food added to reduce our salt intake but enhance flavour. it is a leading cause of many health issues today. good thing they are making a chemical that eliminates your bodies ability to recognize it, a blocker if you will, so you won’t know when enough is enough. (sarcasm) that way they can put loads more in our food.

So what I am getting out of this article is that nutritional yeast is not like bakers or brewers yeast? I am asking because I have a food sensitivity to bakers and brewers yeast. I also have a sensitivity to dairy. This would make a nice alternative to cheese for me.

This is extremely misleading. Glutamic acid IS MSG despite what the article says. Well ok it’s not EXACTLY MSG. Glutamic acid is a certain amino acid in a “free” form, ie not bound to other proteins. This gives it a slightly negative charge which makes it attract salts very rapidly. In chemistry you usually always label chemicals like this in their salt form because you assume it is in a solution and will form the salt. This is why there is a hype about MSG and not glutamic acid. Now do you really think that because it has a sodium loosely connected to it that it makes it any less “dangerous” and somehow makes metabolism different? Of course not. The problem isn’t the one sodium atom loosely attached… it’s the amino acid that is rapidly absorbed by the body. Well in theory of course; I doubt minimal amounts of MSG in a healthy person is really anything to worry about. If you are avoiding MSG though, you should probably avoid any sort of free glutamic acid. Please actually research the chemical structure and metabolism before you start saying what something is or isn’t. Not trying to bash on you but you never even explained how it’s supposedly greatly different.

I’ve seen this Nutritional yeast in many gluten free recipes. I want very badly to add this to my pantry cooking spices. However, I have what is called Toxic Food Syndrome. I cannot have bakers yeast or Brewers yeast because they cause my body to violently react with pain and debilitating inflammation. I know you stated that it is inactive but I wonder what the inactive yeast might do to me considering my condition. Any guidance or knowledge you cN share with me will be greatly appreciated.

Hi. Thanks for the encouraging description of nutritional yeast. It may very well become one of my foods. A couple of questions. There’s a lot of protein in it but is it a ‘complete’ protein? My main question, and why I came to the site, is to double check that this food is ok to eat raw. I.e., if I wanted to just have a teaspoon out of the bag, is that ok?

New to the process…my husband is end stage renal failure so we are looking for healthy foods for him but yet stay in his diet plan and is tasty for him to eat…our son turned us onto the yeast and my hubby loves it……yea

Thanks for putting this information out here. I am recently retired and attempting to learn how to cook. Never realized how vast the options are and keep running into ingredients that I’ve never heard of nor can find on the shelves of my local grocer, which is very frustrating, so, articles such as yours help me to remain somewhat sane through the learning curve.
Thank you,
Don

Thanks for your post! Great information. I’m new to nooch and growing quite find of it. Made a delicious vegan Cesar dressing using it as well as crunchy oven roasted chickpeas dressed with nooch. Love it!!!

Hey! Who cares what it is called as long as it tastes good…(just my opinion). I generally don’t get hung up on words because most of then don’t seem to mean much…(just my opinion). Great website…real info. Thanks for your efforts and hopefully you will continue. The recipes sound delicious. I am a guy who wouldn’t call myself a chef or cook, but do like to fool around with food. Neither my wife, myself or family have expired due to it…yet…I usually try my stuff out on neighbors, first. If they survive, I know it’s safe to consume…(just kidding)!

I am looking for a nutritional yeast substitute. I absolutely do not like it. I have tried in several recipes. I realize I am the minority among vegans. Is there something I can use in it’s place? I have heard miso can be substituted. Would you know the ratio? I am looking for a vegan cheese sauce to be used as a queso. Thanks!

Miso is much more salty, so you need to use it sparingly. I recommend making a vegan cheese sauce without the nutritional yeast and using just a little bit less liquid, since the yeast thickens it somewhat. At the end, take the sauce off the heat and start adding miso by the teaspoon until you get the taste you want. It may not taste like cheese, but may satisfy the craving for something creamy and savory.

Audrey keep it simple at first..beans and rice will keep for several days in the fridge and soy sauce will keep well on the shelve..Start with the basics and add vegies as they become available…My 2 cents

All the time , I have abdomen pain, I can not eat normal food. I had many test, I tried what is wrong with me, still G.I Dr doesn’t know . What is different from, yeast infection and eating nutritional yeast?????

Very informative. Thanks! Another use for nutritional yeast that I have tried is in pesto. Used yeast in place of Parmesan, walnuts in place of pine nuts and ripe avocado in place of olive oil. Served on thin slices of zucchini. Delicious!

Hi, do you know what the difference is, if any between “basic nutritional yeast” (which was in the bulk bin at the health food store for around $8 a pound) and “nutritional yeast” (in a jar, and between $7-8 for 4.5 ounces)
Thank you!

I wanted to put an alert on something… Since I am vegan, it is a concern for me. It’s known that breads contain l-cysteine, an amino acid that either comes from hair, feathers, etc. distilled into the pure form of the acid, or from coal tar. It made me wonder about whether Red Star nutritional yeast, which is what is available here in southeast Texas, contains this particular amino acid, since a complete protein has to contain this amino acid to be considered complete. I’ve no way to confirm this particular product’s raw material input.

I don’t have a photo, but I tried doing a tofu stir fry this evening, using the suggestions posted on a YouTube video. The idea was to slice a block of extra firm tofu in half the long way, (after pressing out the excess moisture with paper towels), and then slice about seven times through it to create slabs. Then you salt each piece, and then dip both sides into flaky nutritional yeast, and then fry them in coconut oil for about three to four minutes per side. Tastes terrific on top of stir fried vegetables that have been seasoned with oyster sauce, or whatever you prefer.

Hi Susan,
Thanks for a great, easy to understand explanation of nutritional yeast. I’ve added a link to this page on one of my blog posts as nutritional yeast is likely new to many of my readers.
All the best!
Getty

I looked into “nooch” as part of vegan/vegetarian recipes for my daughter and her vegan roommate as well as for my church’s meal ministry to nursery school parents. I had thought of making a vegan “beet-loaf” for a niece long before I considered doing it for anyone else. I am glad I now have a way of getting that umami taste that I thought had to be done with mushrooms.

I just realised the nutritional yeast flakes stored in my kitchen has turned color – they look exactly like cocoa powder! I tried to research this online but it seems noone ever discussed about it. I believe it’s no longer editable as the colour has changed from yellow to dark brown (similar to colour of cocoa powder) or perhaps lost its nutrients. Can anyone tell me why does this happen?

Thank you for all the information about nutritional yeast. You mention that you use the flakes, why so over the powder? I plan to try it on popcorn which I have almost every day, I pop in an hot air popper.
Also can you recommend a supplement to take. I am eating closer to vegan not 100%, I do like tuna sandwiches and seafood.
Thank so much,
Jermaine

Hello! Thank you for the article. You said that nutritional yeast is not the same as brewer’s yeast. I’m in Italy and I found this flakes yeast that’s called brewer’s yeast and that is obtained by culture of selected strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae of beet molasses. Without addition of sweeteners, it is dried by a process that ensures the rupture of the cell wall for a complete assimilation of the nutrients contained therein.
Is this nutritional yeast?

It sounds like what you found may be nutritional yeast. Sometimes nutritional yeast is labeled as brewer’s yeast, making for a complicated situation. If it has a pleasant taste, not bitter, then you should be able to use it in recipes calling for nutritional yeast.

I have a severe allergy to additives and preservatives and am always concerned about a product I am not familiar with. Is this product, nutritional yeast, like the flavor enhancer yeast extract that is in so many processed foods?
Thanking you in advance to your speedy response.

There is an amazing recipe for creamy salad dresssing using nutritional yeast 1/2c.hemp hearts, 1/2c.water.some fresh garlic, 2tbl. Nutrional yeast, some lemon and blend in a high speed blender, I use the Nutri Bullet . It is creamy and delicious. I put mine in a covered glass jar that I cleaned and saved from something else . This yummy and healthy salad dressing will thicken as it stays in the refrigerator ! It is so good !

Great information on Nutritional yeast. Only big question I’ve not been able to find answers to is about the molasses used to grow the yeast on. There are two kinds of molasses, one made from sugar cane, and one made from sugar beet. The sugar beet one is at a very high risk of being made from 100% genetically engineered sugar beets. 95% of sugar beets in North America are genetically engineered. I personally would not want to eat nutritional yeast that is grown on sugar beet molasses. Yet no brand tells anything about the type of molasses used or if it’s genetically engineered? I also would love to find a nutritional yeast that is grown on organic sugarcane molasses. Surely there is risk of pesticide residues in the substrate affecting the nutritional yeast. Can you help shed some light on this?

1. does nutritional yeast contribute to yeast infections?
2. vitamin suppliments (b12 too), upset my stomach–i have this hypersalivation thing called salaria when i take vitamins–odd, but true. you said to add suppliments in case? any othersuggestions?

You were doing so well and then you went off into « making up the chemistry as I go » territory. Seriously, glutamate is the predominant counter ion in all living cells, so you bet yeast and all cells are loaded with it. Glutamic acid is merely the acidic form, and at physiological pH will be ionized…ie in the glutamate form. No it isn’t added extra, but naturally occuring doesn’t mean it isnt there.

Nutritional yeast lists it has folic acid in it. For people like me who have a gene mutation called MTHFR we can’t have FOLIC ACID. We can have folate or folinic acid, but not FOLIC ACID. We can’t assimilate it and it builds up and becomes toxic in our bodies causing a lot of health problems.
Tell me, in Nutritional yeast is it indeed FOLIC ACID, or is it FOLATE or FOLINIC ACID? I love the taste of the stuff, but am afraid to eat it because of the consequences. If it is one of the other two, I could have it.
The reason I asked is because another wonderful product which listed Folic Acid, when questioned they said, sorry it is Folate – so I could use it.
Look forward to hearing from you.

Food yeast is more than 50% protein, so they can be used as a substitute for meat and fish. The characteristic “cheese” taste allows you to add them to pizza, casseroles, sauces, omelettes, pasta and other dishes. They also reduce cholesterol, normalize the pressure and intestinal motility, while improving its microflora, and also act as a prevention of pancreatic cancer. Dry yeast struggles with anemia, strengthens immunity and eliminates dysbacteriosis. But the most interesting are beer yeast, the benefits and positive properties of which are very diverse.